Indian Larry
Indian Larry appeared in Easyriders magazine in 1998 in an article entitled, “Hardcore NYC Troubadors“. Later that same year the magazine profiled Larry with his motorcycle, Grease Monkey, which won the 1998 Editor’s Choice Award at the Easyriders Invitational Bike Show in Columbus, Ohio, which was an important recognition by the biker world of Larry’s talent.
Indian Larry, along with Paul Cox, Fritz “Spritz by Fritz” Schenck, Steg Von Heintz, and Frank, formed the crew at Psycho Cycles on New York’s Lower East Side beginning in the early 1990s. During this period they created a distinct New York City chopper style. In 2000, Larry and friends opened Gasoline Alley in Brooklyn.
Larry is credited with helping to re-popularize the stripped down, tall handlebar, foot clutched, jockey shifted, no front brake or fender, small gas tank, open piped, kick start only, stock rake choppers that prevailed in the 1960s, before long front ends became popular (Larry explained during his first Biker Build-Off, that he preferred nimbleness in a bike so he could ride at high speeds along the mountain switchbacks).
In the art of building a bike, Larry preferred old school methods and didn’t use CNC machines. He favored Paughco rigid frames and panhead motors. Larry liked being able to see all of the nuts and bolts and mechanics of a bike, rather than concealing those elements in a bike’s construction. The way that Larry approached building a bike was evident early on. The man who taught Larry the craft of using a welding torch said that he remembered Larry not wanting to grind down welds if they were good because Larry “felt it showed your craftmanship.”
Larry’s shop partner, Paul Cox, (who first met Larry at Sixth Street Specials in the East Village, and started working with him at Psycho Cycles around 1992) explained how Larry conceived the idea for a new chopper build: “Working alongside him you realized how much he ran on instinct. Built-in instinct. He would rarely make a sketch or jot down notes…he just envisioned what he wanted in one wide-eyed flash and would turn to you with a look like he saw God. At that point it was ‘all over but the cryin,’ he would say.”
A tribute bike was built by Billy Lane, Keino Sasaki, Paul Cox, and Kendall Johnson in the Indian Larry shop which was filmed by Discovery Channel for a one-hour biography special on the life of Indian Larry. The name, Love Zombie, was chosen since this was a name that Larry had previously thought up for a future chopper he had wanted to build. Billy Lane hand-fabricated the gas tank, among the other contributions made by the team to build the bike (a vintage Pontiac car hood ornament of an Indian chief’s bust was incorporated into the design of the gas tank). Robert Pradke of Eastford, Connecticut applied purple paint with green flames.
Indian Larry’s inspiration was 50’s – 60’s motorcycle clubs, Ed “Big Daddy Roth” and the legendary Von Dutch. The skilled machinist, metal-sculptor and master motorcycle mechanic has won countless custom shows, was featured in Motorcycle Mania with Jesse James, participated in motorcycle racing, and originated the hard-core motorcycle style – a blend between classic choppers and hotrod race bikes.
Two books were published about Indian Larry in 2006:
- Indian Larry: Chopper Shaman by Dave Nichols with Andrea “Bambi” Cambridge; photographs by Michael Lichter
- Indian Larry by photographer Timothy White